anyone know anything about portugal?--it's official!

[snowbeard]

my wife just got a possible job offer to go to Lisbon, and I wonder if anyone could tell me anything about what to expect?

I am a very outdoors oriented person, skiing being my first passion, mountain biking and whitewater kayaking as close seconds.  

I would be very interested to live on the coast for a change, so maybe taking up surfing and sailing would be fun.

and I assume that our motorcycles can be worked on just about anywhere, but how available are parts for English bikes in that area?  groily's comment that some countries are less service based than the US, things like gas being in tight supply, etc...

just thought I'd draw on the knowledge base and get any info I can to help me be more excited instead of worried :)

[a10 gf]

Portugal is a beautiful country, was there on holiday some time ago. Beaches, seaside, nice cities, countryside and nature. Lot's of English people there, particularly in Algarve. But I don't think it's known for it's skiing resorts, but you've got 1st class places in Spain and the Pyrenees not too far away. Dangerous (= mad) car drivers, but it's said that they are slowly improving and behaving more civilized. AFAIK safe country regarding crime, but in any tourist area watch your wallet, phone, camera etc and don't leave anything in the car (how did I learn that 

For parts, you'll be closer to England than where you are now !

Worth a trip, maybe try a holiday first to get the feel, then evalute the move, for many it would be a dream come true to have the opportunuty to live there for a while.

e

[snowbeard]

well thanks for the info, at this time it's Official!   we're moving to Lisbon in the next couple of months, for as long as five years.  I am beginning to think I won't be able to take an A10, as it may be more worthwhile to buy something for the time I am there than deal with importing...   anyone with experience in that might be able to tell me if I'm wrong.

I do plan to keep both the A10's in storage for my return, and who knows what I'll find there, maybe even another A10 to have to drag home with me!  plus the spitfire should really have a full rebuild, and this may be the only transportation my wife and I have there, it has to be a little more... sacrificial to the possible high mileage (I hesitate to say reliable, as we all know BSA's never let us down, eh?)

looking forward to great mountain biking, and learning more about the sea, surfing and sailing I hope, I've lived landlocked all my life.  And I plan to ski any and everything I can manage too, even if it isn't all weekend, every weekend.

maybe I'll even get a chance to travel out to some BSAOC events in the motherland! :)

[RichardL]

Snowbeard,

Even if most people speak English, there will be a percentage who do not. I wonder if it would not be a good idea to buy a Rosetta Stone Portugese language course as soon as possible and start working on it. I am guessing you have some understanding of Spanish, being in Colorado, but Portugese is a whole other ball game, I think, a much more difficult language to learn.

That said, the oppotunies for new adventures (most, fun, I hope) will be fantastic. We are going to miss watching the progress of Big Rred getting built. A lot can happen in five years, maybe we'll all still be around by then It's just my opinion and, of course you can and should ignore it if it doesn't match your situtation, but I think you will soon be regretting not spending the $1k or, maybe, less, that it would cost to get your running bike over there, even if it is just for fun and not transport. Additionally, the rest of us would benefit greatly from the stories.

So, if your travels, adjustments and changes take you away form A10ing for some time, please, nevertheless, talk to us now and then, just to say hello and tell us how you're doing


Regards,

Richard L.

[snowbeard]

thanks, I do plan to learn the language, its just been short notice and lots to deal with wrapping things up here. 

if I can swing it I may try to take the spitfire, or even the red rocket! it would be great to be able to have SRM do some work on either engine, and it sounds like I should have lots of time on my hands.  we'll see, I may have to go first and get us settled, find out if I can even find space to work on or store any bikes, and then return to ship something back.  we are renting our house here so I expect to return occasionally.

so many things to determine...

[rocket man]

good luck mate hope it all goes well for you

[flatdeck]

I'm actually pretty jealous having spent some time there in the 80's. I don't think it has changed that much since then, certainly not in attitude, so should be wonderful. Very British there for a long time in parts especially round Porto of course. I would not be surprised to find that there is a wealth of old British iron hidden away down there. I would treat it as an opportunity to go hunting!

[snowbeard]

there we go, flatdeck, that's the kind of thing I wanted to hear    I expect you haven't seen the last of me either way, but wouldn't it be great to find more BSA's to collect!!   

I have dreamt of apprenticing myself somewhere nearby that works on these old bikes, if only I didn't have a job.  Now I'll be unemployed and hopefully can find an old timer somewhere who will take me under their wing to clean parts and watch for awhile.

[snowbeard]

greetings from Sunny Lisbon!!! we made it last sunday and are settling into our new apartment.  We brought only what we could take on the flight, not knowing what may or may not be covered for moving expenses, and have found that we get none really.  slightly sad to not have a moto, but seeing the streets I'm happy to stay safely on the sidewalk for awhile, you were right about the drivers here!!

I see a lot of bikes, so I expect to get one soon enough, but I can't even be on my own wife's bank account yet, so it may take some time to get all legal and such... I managed to bring my full suspension mtn bike at least, so two wheels good, four wheels bad

if there's anyone who knows of any motorcycle shops in Lisbon, feel free to let me know. I hope to get acquainted and riding as soon as I can, but currently I have no garage, in fact barely enough room to keep the mtn bike indoors!  will be looking into space as soon as I can, but glad not to have the BSA out on the sidewalk after all.

cheers all, and stop by if you're ever in the neighborhood!! 

[RichardL]

Nevebarba,

Good to hear from you. It sounds like getting adjusted is a bit tricky with all the bureaucracy to go with just daily life. Tricky, but I assume, interesting and exciting. For laughs, I was trying to see if I could detect any vinatge motorcycle shops from the online Portugese yellow pages. Couldn't detect any, too much Portugese. Anyway, if you haven't already found it, here's your local Triumph dealer

http://www.triumph.co.uk/usa/DealerDetails.aspx?sLatitude=38.7443197838836&sLongitude=-9.13212769862077&DID=316&sCountry=Portugal&sUserLocation=Lisbon,&sUserLatitude=38.7256836127332&sUserLongitude=-9.1503327140798&sDataSource=MapPoint.EU&sReturn=http%3a%2f%2fwww.triumph.co.uk%2fusa%2fDealerResults.aspx%3ffFacility1%3dFalse%7cfFacility2%3dFalse%7cfFacility3%3dfalse%7csLatitude%3d38.7256836127332%7csLongitude%3d-9.1503327140798%7csCountry%3dPortugal%7csCountryCode%3dPT%7csUserLocation%3dLisbon%2c%7csDataSource%3dMapPoint.EU

(Wow! What a URL!)

I suppose they would be a good place to start asking.

Regards,

Richard L.

[snowbeard]

wow, that's actually really close to me! walking distance even (good because I have yet to find loctite to reassemble even the pedal bike)!  I saw one Triumph shop that was closed up with dust on the couple of non-Triumph bikes inside, but no luck otherwise.  I wonder if they know anything about the closed one...

Thanks!

[LJ.]

Good Luck Sno, hope it works out for you! at lease the traffic flows on the side that your used to, not like the right side here.

[coater87]

 Sno,

 Just dont lose the net! We will have to work on getting you a bike though...

 Glad the move went OK, just remember, the U.S. is only a tramp steamer ride away!! (and we are only a click or two off using the 'puter!)

 Lee